


The Hot Springs

by MiyuTanemura, StruggleBusCentral



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkwardness, Feelings, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Porn with Feelings, Sex, Silly boys being silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-13 01:55:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11174595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiyuTanemura/pseuds/MiyuTanemura, https://archiveofourown.org/users/StruggleBusCentral/pseuds/StruggleBusCentral
Summary: The team gets a well earned rest at some hot springs.In the midst of the hot waters, unexpected feelings come pouring out.





	1. Hot Waters

**Author's Note:**

> **Miyu:** This was supposed to be a drabble that Shia was going to write but somehow we ended up writing this together. The drabble grew with our rambles and this is the end result. ^^'  
>  We hope it's enjoyable. We were basically just having fun with Natsu and Gray, they're just too silly that we can't stop ourselves.  
> Feedback would be awesome.
> 
> * * *
> 
>  **Shia:** It started as a silly challenge from Miyu to help get me out of my writer's block, and somehow it grew a mind of its own! Not betaed or even edited much, just something we had a lot of fun working on together and decided to share. Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoy!

It was one day just like any other. Natsu had arrived at the guild accompanied by Happy. The sun had just risen and so the blue cat was still mostly sleeping on the dragonslayer's shoulder. The guild was mostly empty except for a few mages who were still mostly asleep on their breakfasts and Mirajane who was manning the bar. Natsu reached his usual table and set Happy on it. Happy showed no signs of waking up. Natsu turned around and headed to Mira. He was hungry.

After getting a few plates of food, Natsu returned to where Happy was still sleeping soundly on the table top. The Exceed perked up as soon as he smelled breakfast.

"Hey buddy, you want some food?"

"Aye sir!"

The two quickly inhaled the meal in front of them. As they ate, Natsu watched their guild mates start to trickle in, but none of them were the person he was looking for. The dragonslayer tapped his foot impatiently while he waited. Finally, after the guild was mostly full of people eating their breakfasts and getting ready to head out on their jobs, Natsu spotted Gray walking through the entrance. Natsu grinned as he watched the ice mage still rubbing his eyes sleepily while he headed straight to Mira to get a cup of coffee.

'He looks so cute in the morning,' Natsu thought to himself. He jumped up from where he was sitting with Happy and bounded over to the bar with renewed vigor.

"Good morning!" he exclaimed as he clapped Gray on the back, throwing the ice mage slightly off-balance. Gray didn't say anything, too out of it for the moment, and instead just leveled a glare at Natsu.     

'Cute.' Natsu thought to himself once again. Outwardly he grinned cheekily at Gray. "It's about time you got here, sleepy-head."

"Flame brain, could you not be so spazzy this early in the morning?" Gray grumbled as he held the mug tightly and took a few gulps of the scalding liquid. Natsu always wondered how Gray, an ice mage, could take the too-hot coffee. Didn't he burn his tongue? Though, of course  for Natsu it was very mild. With a mental shrug, Natsu grabbed Gray's free arm and started dragging the ice mage to the table where their friends had already started to gather.

"Come on. It's getting late already. You're a night owl so you're always this grumbly this late in the morning." Natsu said, chiding him in a playful tone.

"Late? It's way too early." Gray replied as he let himself be dragged towards their friends.

Natsu just rolled his eyes but couldn't keep the smile from his face. "Early for you is practically afternoon for everyone else. You and Cana need to stop staying up so late together." Natsu laughed loudly at the utterly unimpressed stare Gray gave him while he continued to pull the ice mage across the hall, still not letting go of his arm even when they reached their destination.

"Oh hi, guys! Good morning!" Wendy greeted with a smile.

“Morning," Lucy mumbled, eyelids heavy and looking just as tired as Gray.

Erza smiled, "Hello boys. Gray, nice to see you out of bed before noon."

Gray muttered something unintelligible under his breath before taking another big drink of coffee. Erza just smirked.

"So what's the plan for today?" Natsu asked. "Something exciting I hope!"

"Sadly, no." Erza said, though she had a barely concealed smile. "We only have to go to the Lycaros library to hand out a tome." At that, Lucy seemed to awake from her stupor. "But the Master said that we could go to the hot springs nearby."

"He said that it was well-deserved because we didn't blast half of Soliphides town to the next country." Wendy chimed in, playfully toying with her hair. "He seemed pleased."

"For not having headaches, for once." Lucy mumbled, but Natsu could still pick it up.

"So... the first part is going to be boring but then we can have fun?" Natsu summarized, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Sheesh, no need to be that excited." Gray sat heavily in one of the chairs and grabbed a small piece of bread that was still on one of the plates. "You're too hyper."

"Don't be such a spoilsport." Natsu replied, though his voice lacked the biting tone. He did punch Gray in the arm, though. He enjoyed the contact, as brief as it might be.

Natsu plopped down in the place next to him. Apparently Gray was still not awake enough to fight back properly, because the only acknowledgement of the hit was him jabbing Natsu in the ribs with his elbow. The fire mage couldn't even be irritated at the sharp feeling because he was too busy enjoying the way Gray didn't move back afterwards and instead choose to stay close enough to just barely lean against Natsu's side. Natsu actively fought the blush that was trying rise to his face.

"Honestly I'm surprised going to a hot spring sounds fun to you," Gray said, pulling Natsu from his flustered thoughts, "It seems like it involves a lot of stillness for someone whose ideal pass-time is wiping out a town." Lucy laughed and Natsu stuck his tongue out. Gray just rolled his eyes. "You're such a child, flame brain," he said but was smiling all the same.

"Takes one to know one, Ice Princess."

"Better watch your mouth or I'll kick your ass."

"Oh please, you're hardly even awake yet. I'd like to see you try!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! Let's go, you stupid stripping---"

"Boys!" Erza snapped, "Are you two going to manage to cooperate today or am I going to have to beat some sense into you?"

"We'll behave!" Both mages said instantly, spines straightening as they looked into Erza's general direction. The red head's tone of voice was enough to calm the two mages into a momentary truce. They both knew how unpleasant it was to start the day with their asses being kicked by Erza. Also, Natsu thought, he was rather enjoying the contact with Gray. They had separated but the _feeling_ of nearness was still there. It comforted Natsu on some deeply hidden level.

"If everybody's ready," Lucy said in her too chipper tone, pushing herself into a standing position, "we can start going! The library awaits!" She finished dramatically, hand pointing towards the door. After those words everyone at the table started laughing.

"Seriously, Lucy. We only need to talk about books to catch your attention." Natsu said with a snort.

"Books and other things..." Gray said in a low tone that only Natsu caught. The glance he threw at the fire mage nearly had the blush returning full-force.

* * *

As predicted, the mission was uneventful, but the day-long trip to the practically ancient library had left everyone feeling tired and covered in dust. It would have been funny, but after a while the sneezing from the dragonslayers had gotten annoying. Natsu was looking suspiciously at Gray who had suggested pushing Natsu into the fountain - it was a motive of pride for the town but it didn't look all that nice to Natsu to be thrown into the multi-coloured water, especially since it had some invejifish (the greedy fish) guarding the bottom of the fountain where the coins were thrown into. Word said that they bit really hard. Natsu didn't feel like trying to be bitten. So, a small game of elbowing the other and sneezing like there was no tomorrow began for Natsu. Lucy laughed at the elbowing and pinching the two mages were trading, making Natsu glare at her and sneeze in her direction. Gray laughed at the disgusted noise the celestial mage made when she was covered in some _unidentifiable_ particles. Natsu counted that as a win.

After a little while, the team arrived at the hot springs. The lady at the counter was very nice, giving them all the information necessary, sorting the mages through the rooms and telling them to enjoy the hot springs and the time for dinner. Natsu and Gray ended up in the same room.

Natsu was both excited and fearful because he was going to be in _close_ proximity with Gray and, well, what if the other learned his secret? He was fine with them just being best friends and rivals and just continuing to have their fights. He didn't want things to change.

Without thinking about that, they headed to the tiled room that led to the spring outside.

The two mages disrobed and quick and efficiently washed off all the dust and cobwebs that were attached to them since they left the library. To Natsu it felt oddly good to see the greyish dirt being washed away - and if he took a sneak peek at Gray to admire how that pale skin was getting all clean, well, it was nobody's business. Neither mage said a word while they cleaned themselves, there was a peaceful silence between them that Natsu didn't feel inclined to break. It was...comfortable. At last, they were ready to head to the hot springs.

The boys, now in only their towels, walked quietly to the steaming pool of water, poking match long forgotten.

"Uh, you go ahead first," Natsu nodded towards the spring once they had reached the edge. He tried not to cringe at the nervous quiver in his words. Gray eyed him curiously but finally he nodded and removed his towel before stepping into the water. Natsu tried not to stare, but he couldn't help it. It's not like he hadn't seen Gray naked before. In fact, he'd probably seen him without clothes on almost as much as he had seen him with them. But this felt different. It was personal and intimate, a moment between just the two of them. And Natsu felt his insides heat up before he even set foot in the spring from the way the steam rolled off his friend's pale skin and the water dripped down the muscles of his chest and arms. Natsu cleared his throat awkwardly before removing his own towel and getting in. Even in his nervousness he didn't miss the way Gray watched him for a second too long before averting his eyes to the side. He wasn't sure if the suddenly bright red color of the ice mage's cheeks was from the hot water or something else entirely.

As Natsu lowered himself, he let out a pleased noise as the hot water embraced his tired body. Natsu sat down beside Gray, the comfortable silence still hanging between them, only being broken by the watery noises and the sounds coming from the other hot springs - each room had a smaller, private spring, and Natsu was both grateful and unnerved by that. And Gray...the ice mage didn't help. He was red-cheeked but now Natsu could only think that it was because of the water. But he had a nagging suspicion as to what had happened earlier, as unlikely as it might be.

"This is really what we needed." Natsu said finally, stretching under the water and letting out another pleased noise. Gray made an unintelligible noise. "What?"

"It was good, indeed." Gray replied, strangely avoiding looking at Natsu.

"Oi, Gray. Are you feeling alright?" Natsu scooted closer to Gray. "I know that these springs aren't too good for you, you can't handle the heat all that well and- Hey!" he yelped.

"Serves y-you right. I can handleee thhhhe ssssprings fiine." Gray replied in a half-drunken tone.

"Oookay, you're done here." Natsu said seriously. He placed a hand on Gray's forehead and, of course, it was too hot.

"You're so dumb, ice brain. Don't you know that ice in a hot spring melts?" Natsu grumbled as he picked Gray up, a difficult feat as the water was hindering him slightly. "Seriously, you're too much."

"I-I can haandle thisss fiine." Gray breathed into Natsu's collarbone. "'’m fiiiine." He repeated as Natsu had him held bridal-style and was striding towards the board of the spring. He placed the ice mage on the colder stone, hopping from the waters to sit by his friend. He blushed as he looked at Gray and quickly grabbed some towels to cover his and Gray's modesty. He, unfortunately, couldn't blame the hot spring for the redness in his cheeks...


	2. Hot Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversations, dinner and a realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Miyu:** Another chapter. Can these awkward dorks be any more awkward? They're so silly! xD  
>  Anyway, this was a lot of fun to write, hopefully it shows. xD  
>  **Shia:**  
>  So much awkward. SO MUCH. Boys are so dumb. Luckily they're cute enough to make up for it. ;)  
> Thank you for reading!!!

Natsu awkwardly cleared his throat for the second time and tried to ignore the way his stomach was doing flips. "Gray. Gray, are you with me, ice princess?"

"I'm...fine..."

Natsu rolled his eyes, "Sure you are, dumbass. You seem like you're doing fantastic."

Gray groaned and closed his eyes, "Shut up."

"Come on, sleepyhead. We need to get you out of here and somewhere colder." Natsu grabbed Gray's arm. "You need to drink something too."

"But I don't need-" Gray retorted, opening one eye and attempting an one-eyed glare.

It didn't work on Natsu.

"Yes, you need," the fire mage said, starting to lose his temper. "Come on!" His words belied his careful actions, as he helped Gray up. "Now, up, you go." And so they were both standing, Gray slightly unsteadily.

' _Damn, you didn't think this completely through, did you, Natsu?'_   the fire mage realized as both their towels had fallen to the stone floor.

"Okay, let's go." Natsu said, quickly grabbing the towels and handing one to Gray. He hoped the blush - that had returned with a vengeance - wasn't too noticeable.

Natsu tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other and helping to keep Gray upright instead of dwelling on the fact that they were barely covered and pressed against each other from head to toe. The attempts were in vain as each time he moved he could feel his friend's body moving beside him as well.

It was a lot cooler once they were inside and now there was _really_ no way he'd be able to excuse the flush of his cheeks. Gray managed to mostly stumble along on his own, but the fire mage kept him supported just in case. Natsu frowned when Gray pulled him to a stop halfway to their room, dropping his head and leaning heavily on Natsu until the world stopped spinning.

Natsu frowned. He must have been more dizzy than he was letting on. Stubborn idiot.

"No, no, no. We haven't gotten there yet." Natsu said, holding Gray more firmly.

"Buuut I'm tired," Gray whined.

"Seriously, ice brain? What's up with you?" Natsu was slightly baffled by the other's behavior.

"I'm fine." Gray continued stubbornly.

"If you're " fine" as you say, why am I dragging your sorry ass to the room?"

"Shut up!" Gray grouched again.

Slowly, they reached their room. Natsu pushed the door open and the pair made their way over to one of the bed rolls. Carefully he lowered Gray to the floor, kneeling down next to him as soon as he was sure the ice mage wasn't going to topple over.

"Man, you are such a pain in the ass," Natsu said bluntly, but the words were filled with warmth and exasperated affection.

"You don't have to stay," Gray mumbled after a minute, "You can go back to the springs. I'll be okay."

Natsu stared at him, "Okay, seriously? What has gotten into you? You're acting really weird, ice block. What's going on? The heat really make you that sick?"

"Nothing's wrong." Gray grumbled as he turned his back to Natsu, the towel slipping low on his hips.

"I don't get you!" Natsu threw his arms up. "I'm going to get you some water," Natsu said as he rummaged through his bag and grabbed some clothes. "And you should stop being such a dumbass!" he nearly yelled the last word as he slammed the door to their room. He was still  aggravated when he was led to the kitchen, where he got a tray with cold water and some food. On his way back to the room he was still huffing and didn't hear his name being called.

 "The water's here." he said as he opened the door, one-handed. Gray was sitting, in his underwear. Decidedly refusing to look at Natsu. "Are you in a better mood now?" the fire mage asked.

"I already told you I'm fine," Gray snapped but then closed his eyes and sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just..." he sighed again. "Never mind."

Natsu was caught between tearing his hair out in frustration and being worried about how odd his friend was suddenly acting. Thinking back, he couldn't really come up with anything that seemed off about Gray up until the ordeal with getting overheated. Was he embarrassed from getting sick? Was he really just tired? Was it possible that he was uncomfortable and also dwelling on feelings brought up from their closeness? That must have only been him. There was no way Gray could possibly feel anything more than friendship and rivalry for Natsu, right? But then the fire mage thought back to the color Gray's cheeks turned from seeing him take off his towel and climb in the water. Did that mean something? Natsu shook his head to clear his thoughts.

The fire mage placed the tray on the small table on the corner of their room. "Huh," Natsu scratched his head to keep from tearing at his hair. "Spill it. Come on, what the hell's going on?" He glared at Gray, even though he had the feeling that it probably wasn't the right way to go. Still, Natsu slumped on the floor beside Gray, poking him on the side. "Come on, spill." He repeated.

"Seriously, asshole, has the heat gotten to your head and melted the small thing you call a brain?" Gray all but growled, standing up in a flash but swaying on his feet.

"Oi! Calm down. You haven't recovered enough." Natsu cautioned, hands hovering awkwardly beside Gray.

"Who are you to say that?" Gray shot back, steadying himself and striding to the small table and grabbing a glass of water. He threw it back in one go. Threw a glare at Natsu as he finished.

"You asshole." Natsu stood and took the few steps to close in on the other. "I don't know what the hell is happening with you all of a sudden!" He yelled in exasperation.

“Nothing is happening with me!”

“Like hell it isn’t! You’ve been acting weird ever since we got here!” Natsu marched over to where Gray was still standing. He grabbed the ice mage by the arm and pulled him around so they were face-to-face. “So you’re gonna to tell me what the fuck has gotten into you and you’re gonna do it right now! You’re being--”

He paused mid-sentence when he realized how close they were standing together. As he was frozen in place he could hear Gray’s heartbeat speed up and notice his face flush. ‘ _Maybe it wasn’t from the heat.._.’

“The fuck are you doing?” Gray said, taking a hasty step back. His cheeks had darkened.

“Gray. You’re…” Natsu started but was interrupted when the door was opened with a bang.

“Time for dinner, boys!” Lucy said cheerfully, dressed in her colourful yukata. The blues and purples making her eyes seem brighter. Her eyes widened as she took in the vibe from the room – and their mostly undressed states. “Huh, come meet us in the room?” She finished awkwardly, quickly closing the door and getting the hell out of there.

“Come on. They’re waiting.” Gray said as he quickly composed himself. He did pause to take a drink of the cold water, his back turned to Natsu.

Natsu frowned. He followed the other’s lead but he chewed on his bottom lip. As he was ready – Gray still with his back to him – he decided to caution Gray.

“Fine, let’s go. But don’t think you’ll get out of this conversation that easily.” He threw a glare at Gray but the ice mage seemed to brush off his warning.

“Let’s go.” Gray said as he opened the door.

Natsu let out a sigh and followed.

* * *

Natsu and Gray got to the dining room – which had a number of people already – and they saw the table their friends were sitting at already. The tension between the two mages was still crackling so it didn’t surprise Natsu when Gray decided to sit on the other side of the table. He made Erza and Lucy scoot a little to the sides but the two mages didn’t seem to mind, they were quite engrossed in their conversation.

Natsu sat beside Wendy and frowned slightly. Thankfully, food started coming to their table – and drink. Before Natsu noticed it, sake was flowing and so was laughter. Natsu didn’t feel much like entering the conversation at first, busying himself with shoving down as much food as he could eat – no, it was enjoying the food, he told himself. He saw as Gray seemed to be in a deep conversation with Lucy, the blonde mage laughing at something or the other the ice mage had said.

Natsu shoveled more food into his mouth.

He watched them but was unable to process what they were saying with all the surrounding noise drowning them out. So he abandoned his attempt to eavesdrop in favor of focusing on the weird whatever it was that was currently happening between him and Gray.

' _Stupid icicle. Why is he acting so fucking weird_?' The fire mage spared a glance back at Gray and Lucy, still caught up in conversation. ' _He seems just fine with the others_.' Gray was usually pretty good at keeping his composure. Natsu found ways to piss him off on a regular basis, but other than that he was usually pretty laid back. The fire mage couldn't remember a time when he'd ever seen his friend as flustered as he was back in their room.

And he was blushing a lot...even after he'd cooled down from the springs. Not that Natsu didn't appreciate how cute Gray looked while his face was flushed, but it only added to his confusion.

' _Cute? Ugh. Maybe I've had too much sake._ ' He continued to put together the puzzle he was left with until someone called him out of his thoughts.

"-tsu. Natsu!"

He jumped. Erza was glaring at him from across the table. "Huh...?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "Weren't you listening to anything I just said?"

"Umm...no?"

Lucy and Gray snickered and Wendy tried to hide her own smile.

"I _said_ are you having a good time?"

The dragonslayer looked at Gray before he even thought about what he was doing and the ice mage immediately avoided eye contact. "Yes? Yes. I'm having a good time."

The strange behavior didn't go unnoticed by the girls, but Erza just gave him a weird look and moved on, watching him carefully as she spoke.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it."

“Good, yeah.” Natsu nodded once more, too distracted by his thoughts to notice the suspicion in their friends.

“So, did you get to enjoy the hot springs?” Lucy cut in suddenly.

Both Natsu and Gray turned slightly red – at the same time.

“They were great!” Natsu said finally, taking the time to shove some rice into his mouth, trying to buy some time. “But the ice princess over there,” he pointed with his chin towards Gray, “tried to compete with me in who could last longer inside it.”

“Natsu, please, don’t speak with your mouth full.” Erza chided. Natsu grumbled under his breath but he eyed Gray, who was suddenly in the spotlight.

“Is that true?” Wendy questioned, already sizing Gray to see if the other was in bad shape.

“How can you think that that was a good idea?” Lucy asked incredulous.

“You boys…” Erza said with a sigh as she ate some of her miso soup.

Gray shifted, uncomfortable. He laughed sheepishly and lifted his hands in surrender. “I did no such thing. The flame brain is exaggerating, as usual.” He threw a glare at Natsu. “We were in the hot spring and it was good at first, I guess. But then it got too overwhelming.” He shrugged.

“Well, of course.” Lucy said in her ‘ _you’re so dumb_ ’ voice.

"Piss off," Gray grumbled and Lucy laughed. "I was...distracted. I wasn't really thinking about how long we'd been in there."

"Distracted by what?"

His eyes widened and he shook his head, "What? No, uh nothing. It was nothing."

Wendy frowned, "Are you sure you're okay, Gray? Your face has a little more color to it than usual...you're not feeling ill?"

"I'm fine," he replied, voice rising in pitch.

Natsu snorted, watching Gray getting overwhelmed with all the questions.

"What about you, Natsu?"

The dragonslayer nearly spit out the soup he was eating.

"Me?" he squeaked, and he watched in irritation as Gray was now the one smirking at his discomfort.

"Yes you," Erza said, "you look a little out of sorts as well. Something wrong?"

"Nope! Nothing's wrong. Everything's great. Awesome. It's super."

It didn’t help that at that precise moment his cheeks decided to become red as a tomato.

“I… can see that…?” Erza said, unconvinced.

“Yeah, you don’t seem like you’re okay.” Lucy added.

“But I am! I swear!” Natsu placed the bowl on the table with a little more force than he calculated, breaking it with a resounding _crack_.

Silence settled on the table.

“Now you’re too red. That’s uncommon.” Wendy said in a slightly worried tone. “I should check-“

“Nope. This is just a reaction to the food. It was spicy?” Natsu said with a grimace, not buying his own excuse.

“Sure…” Erza said in her no-nonsense tone. “Something’s going on with you.”

“And what about Gray? He’s the one who nearly drowned in the pool when he fainted!” Natsu pointed at the ice mage.

“Okay, girls, it’s getting late and we’ve already had a good meal. How about we go to our rooms and continue this conversation tomorrow?” Gray finally said in a conciliatory tone. Natsu squinted at him suspiciously. It wasn’t normal for the other to be so… reasonable… at least not when it meant saving Natsu from their too curious friends. Oh no, Gray liked to see Natsu squirm. As did Natsu when Gray was in the spotlight. “For all we know, Natsu’s acting weird because he sneezed one time too many and it shook that small brain of his. After some rest he’ll probably get to normal. If he has that, of course.”

“Hey!” Natsu shot back, aggravated.

“It’s true!” Gray shrugged.

“Okay, they’re back to normal.” Lucy said, hiding her face in her hand. “Maybe it was just the heat and the powers of the waters? It’s said that they’re healing waters.” The blonde mused.

“Yeah… you girls should think about that. Maybe find some stuff about it?” Gray tried to brush it off. “But I think that we should head to our rooms. We don’t want flame boy, here doing more damage.” Gray tilted his head slightly towards Natsu.

“Fine.” Erza finally conceded. “But don’t think that you’re off the hook. You two are acting too strangely.” The red head said, suspicious.

“Goodnight.” Gray said as he held Natsu’s hand, helped him up and they both scurried to their room. In the way, they greeted the old lady in the front desk.

* * *

 “That was great, Gray. Now they’re more suspicious than ever about whatever’s going on.” Natsu said in a sarcastic tone as soon as the door closed behind them.

“Well, you weren’t being much help. I got us out of there, didn’t I?” Gray shot back. “Besides, nothing is going on.” He said, stressing the last words.

Natsu rolled his eyes, “Nothing’s going on my ass. What is wrong with you?” He circled around until he was standing in front of Gray. “You were acting really weird earlier.”

“So were you, ash for brains!”

“I was only acting weird because you were acting weird!”

Gray closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, openly irritated, “Natsu, it’s nothing. Just drop it.”

The fire mage shook his head. Back down from a fight with the stupid icicle? No way! Besides, he was going to get to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on with Gray, even if he had to punch it out of him.

“That’s bullshit and you know it. You aren’t fooling the girls and you aren’t fooling me either.”

Gray didn’t respond he just stared at the floor and Natsu felt uneasy. He really did need to figure out what was going on, but Gray always had to make everything so damn impossible to understand.

Silence hung between them, tense and thick. Neither seemed to know what to say or do to help the situation.

“Is something wrong?” Natsu finally asked, breaking the silence in a tone far gentler than normal. “Did something happen?” He hesitated for a split second before grabbing the ice mage’s hand tightly. “You know you can, uh, tell me anything, right? I know we fight a lot, but if you’re not okay...”

Gray finally broke his staring contest with the ground and looked into Natsu’s worried eyes. “Natsu, I’m okay.”

He paused for a moment, noticing their joined hands and his face went red all over again.

“I’m...um...” he pulled his hand away quickly and coughed, “It’s no big deal. Really.”

Natsu wasn’t always great on picking up social cues from other people, but even he was able to make a guess at what was going on.

It was in the way Gray was blushing in the springs when Natsu was alone with him, afterwards when they were up against each other walking to the room, right now as soon as he noticed they were touching. And with his inability to make a coherent excuse for why he was acting so funny. How he seemed totally normal with everyone except Natsu.

The fire mage’s mind went totally blank. He had been having feelings for Gray for while but he’d just pushed them away because it seemed like a fruitless endeavor to attempt to pursue. He was fine being friends and rivals and not trying to change something that was already good. But now...now with all the signs that Gray was giving off, he was at a loss. If he was being honest, the ice mage’s weird behavior seemed to point to him returning Natsu’s feelings...

Now the question was, what was the fire mage going to do about it?

“You… You’ve got to be kidding me!” Natsu said all of a sudden. He was looking strangely at Gray, not believing his own conclusions. His thoughts had to be wrong. “I must be wrong. Right?” He ran a hand through his unruly hair.

“Now you’re the one who isn’t making sense, in any way.” Gray said after a few moments. “What’s wrong?”

“You!” Natsu shoved a finger into the ice mage’s sternum. “And… me. I think…” Natsu said, a frown settling in his features. “But it’s ridiculous.”

“You are very ridiculous, fire brain.” Gray conceded with a sigh. “And tiring. I just…” Gray sat on his futon.

“I’m not the one who’s all twisted into knots because of me.” Natsu said in a strange voice, his voice catching on the last word.

Gray’s eyes widened, his face paling. “Wha- what the fuck are you talking about?” Gray stammered. His hand tightened on the covers, knuckles turning white.

“It… is… and so am I. But it doesn’t make sense.” Natsu snorted, letting himself fall on his own futon, staring at the ceiling. “To think that…”

“Don’t!” Gray raised his hand. “I don’t…” The ice mage shook his head vehemently.

“You’re such a coward!” Natsu said with a mirthless laugh. “I don’t understand you.” He sat up, crossing his legs, letting his elbows rest on his knees and leaned forward. A look of complete focus in his face – his complete attention was focused on Gray

“Me? A coward?” Gray forced a laugh. “You’re out of your mind.” Gray couldn’t look at Natsu, he waved a hand dismissively.

Natsu’s mouth turned downwards. His look sharpened, became a glare. And it was at that moment that he couldn’t take it anymore. He jumped to his knees, scooting to Gray and grabbing his yukata in a forceful grip, giving a small shake. “Get a grip, asshole!” Natsu all but shouted. “Don’t you see that it’s the same for me?!”

Gray’s mouth fell open, face becoming expressionless. “Wha-?” The ice mage blinked dumbly. “The fuck are you talking about?”

Natsu shoved him, making Gray fall on the futon. He was still looking intently at the fire mage.

“I think I know what’s your problem, after all.” Natsu said in a tired voice, all the energy drained after his outburst. “And I think I have the same problem.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me!” Gray said baffled. He paused and glared up at Natsu. “Shove off, flame brain. You have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Yeah, actually I think I do.”

Natsu clambered up next to Gray who continued to scowl at him right up until the moment the dragonslayer leaned down and kissed him.

When Natsu pulled away, it was just enough that they could look each other in the eyes.

Gray was staring at him in shock, but he hadn’t gotten mad, didn’t pull away when Natsu kissed him. The dragonslayer decided that was as good a sign as anything else, so he quickly pushed away his nervousness and got straight to the point. He was done walking around this in circles.

“I think I’m in love with you,” he stated and then grinned cheekily, “and judging by the way your face has been on fire all night I’m guessing you feel the same.”

“Shut up, dumbass,” Gray replied, but it was without malice.

“Why don’t you make me, icicle?”

“Fine, I will,” Gray shot back and Natsu laughed as the ice mage yanked him forward and pressed their lips together again.


	3. Hot Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened next. And the morning after...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Miyu:** Final chapter. Yay? Huh, hope you guys like it. Thanks for staying with us on this wacky ride. ^^
> 
>  **Shia:** Kudos to my darling Miyu for coaching me through helping write this chapter since I've never written porn before. And also for putting up with my whining about it because I am a literal 5-year-old. Thank you so much for reading our silly story, we appreciate it! :) Hope you enjoy.
> 
> Warning: This chapter is mostly just explicit sex. You have been warned.

They lost their balance as they kissed, ending up falling onto one of the futons in a heap, limbs interlocked. However, they remained kissing, hands quickly working on their clothing, helping the other disrobe faster.

Natsu was amazed because in less than a blink they were both in only their underwear.

The pair broke the kiss so that they could wheeze in some air at the same time that their hands roamed newly exposed expanses of skin. The temperature in the room seemed to be spiking, despite the open window that let the moonlight filter in.

They moved so that Natsu was laying on his back and Gray was straddling his hips at the same time that he spread out over Natsu. The fire mage's hands ran down the smooth planes of the other's back, stopping when he reached the other's backside. As they kissed again, Natsu gave a small squeeze.

Gray gasped into his mouth and Natsu took the opportunity to grab him again while murmuring, “What’s wrong, princess? Out of breath?” against the other’s lips.

Gray broke away to glare at him. Instead of coming back into the kiss, he leaned down and ran his tongue from the middle of Natsu’s chest all the way up to his shoulder before pressing his lips along his neck and kissing from his jaw to his cheeks and back to his lips again. The fire mage was already panting, shuddering pleasantly under the attention.

Gray pulled away again, just enough to lean down and whisper, “Now who’s out of breath?” in his ear, and dammit Natsu could _hear_ the ice mage’s cocky smile in his voice.

“Why you…!” Natsu shot back with a glare, quickly grabbing Gray’s waist and rolling them around so that he was on top of Gray, the ice mage’s legs splayed open. “You wanna play, huh?” The fire mage asked, his too innocent face and voice not a good sign.

“Who said anything about playiii-!” Gray started by snarking but cut himself short as Natsu’s hand plunged inside his underwear and the fire mage curled his hand around Gray. Natsu smirked at the flustered ice mage, slowly stroking the other’s erection, giving a little squeeze and enjoying how the ice mage’s hips moved, seemingly without his owner’s control.

“You wanted it, so I’ll give it to you.” Natsu said, letting out an amused huff at the other’s sharp look. “Hm, you’re not there yet.” He said into the room before placing his free hand beside Gray’s arm and lowering himself onto the other’s chest. Glancing up at Gray, Natsu licked the ice mage’s left nipple, eliciting a choked noise from the other. Natsu took things one step further and started sucking on it, tongue swirling lazily around it before he gave a nice bite into the small bud. Gray’s back arched, the ice mage threw his head back and let out a garbled noise. Natsu felt his hand become stickier due to the amount of precome the other was producing. Natsu pulled back, blowing onto the wet area and making Gray shudder. “Oh, you like that.” He said smugly, as he removed his hand from Gray’s underwear.

Gray threw one leg around the fire mage’s waist and pulled Natsu down, so that they were kissing again. In response, Natsu ground his hips downwards, making their clothed erections rub together.

Both boys pulled back with a groan.

“Fuck,” Gray muttered.

Natsu agreed.

He reached up to take the ice mage’s hands and laced their fingers together, pressing them into the floor on either side of Gray’s head. Natsu slid his tongue into Gray’s mouth and brought his hips down again, a little more forceful. Only this time Gray snapped his hips up to meet him and Natsu felt a debauched moan rip itself from his throat.

Absently he felt his hands heating up a tad, and he heard Gray hiss before the ice mage cooled his own palms to balance the temperature, a tiny trail of steam rising from where the two boys clasped each other tightly.

Their eyes met and locked together and there was a moment where time seemed to stand still before they kissed again, open mouths clashing, tongues trying to map the other's mouth, saliva slipping and making the kiss become all that much sloppy. The clasp of their hands tightened with the emotion they were putting behind the kiss. Words were unnecessary because their hands spoke for them as they broke the kiss once again. Sweat was plastering their hair to their foreheads.

Gray finally let go of Natsu’s hands in favor of moving to grip the fire mage’s back.

Natsu slid his hand down Gray’s stomach, tracing the muscles with his fingertips before dipping under the band of his boxers. He took it slower this time, brushing lovingly against the ice mage’s abs and hips, down the smooth skin of his thighs. Gray was quivering underneath him by the time Natsu moved his hand back again to grip the top of the silky, black material. He tugged lightly, but paused to look up at the other boy. “Is this okay?” he asked.

Gray swallowed audibly but nodded. Natsu immediately responded to the invitation by pulling the ice mage’s boxers all the way down to his ankles and then tossing them across the room.

When he turned back, he tried not to stare but couldn’t help himself. Gray was splayed out, bare and vulnerable in front of him. He was breathing heavily, skin damp with sweat, face flushed, and Natsu wanted to memorize every inch of him, wanted to be able to recall the look in his eyes, absolute trust mixed with hazy desire, at a moment’s notice.

Natsu shifted slightly, and without even remembering how, found himself stripped of his underwear as well.

Apparently Gray was just as good at taking off other people’s clothes as he was at losing his own.

Natsu looked up into Gray's still hazy eyes, arching one eyebrow in amusement. He couldn't help but smile cheekily at the ice mage. It was such so strange to be able - allowed, even - to see Gray like this. Despite the fact that the other went around mostly naked on a regular basis didn't subtract to the wonder of Gray letting himself lower his barriers.

Still, the fire mage was stunned by the whole turn of events the night had taken. The fire mage would never, ever imagine that Gray would feel the same.

The fire mage felt slightly light headed, suddenly. As if he had been drinking keg after keg of the strongest drink they had at the guild - yes, the one that even Cana was susceptible to! - and it was starting to have an effect on him.

Natsu stood still, making sure to notice everything about Gray. How his pale skin was flushed and slick with a very light sheen of sweat, how his erection jutted upwards, engorged and red, plump and Natsu felt the urge to lick the pearly-white fluid that was beading at the tip.

Natsu followed his instinct and gave a tentative lick.

Gray arched with Natsu's motion, which prompted hands to grasp at the ice mage's waist, holding him steady. Natsu continued licking, letting the flat of his warm tongue go from base to tip.

Fingers plunged into his pink locks, grasping tightly, a slight twinge of pain running down Natsu's spine but that only made the fire mage engulf the tip of the other's erection. The noises Gray was making were, also, delicious.

With all these incentives, Natsu did as he pleased, he started sucking. First it was just on the head, he licked every bit of precome from Gray's cock, his right hand coming to fist at the base, his hand connecting with the coarse hairs as Natsu started bobbing his head. He would go down, engulf as much of the cock as he could, feel it knock against the back of his throat, making him choke and gasp, spittle falling onto his hand, slicking his palm and the shaft, making Gray's moans and broken words raise in both volume and pitch.

Gray had both hands fisted on the back of Natsu's head, his whole body moving upwards to meet Natsu. Natsu could feel the tautness in the body underneath himself, his free hand was grasping desperately at one asscheek. The room filled with their noises, choked-off words, the slap of skin on skin, the intoxicating mix of both their scents.

Natsu suddenly found himself much more aware of everything around them. He had closed his eyes but the noises, the feel, the taste and smell of everything was just heightening everything that was happening.

Gray was Gray.

And that made Natsu let his control slip once again. The hand grasping at Gray's backside heated, making Gray yelp and, without warning, the ice mage was shooting into Natsu's mouth, Natsu's name escaping his lips in a tight voice. The fire mage was surprised, he swallowed some but spluttered and spat the rest, as Gray fell back down onto the futon bonelessly. Natsu wiped his mouth and chin with the back of his hand, looking wide-eyed at the other mage.

“S-sorry,” Gray stuttered through heavy breaths, looking away in embarrassment.

Natsu crawled up until he was covering the other mage’s body with his own once more. He whispered, “Don’t be,” and then leaned down to capture Gray’s lips.

Gray pushed back with equal intensity, passion and drive seemingly unhindered by the fact that he’d orgasmed only moments before. He grabbed Natsu’s hips and lifted them just enough that he could reach in-between them and take the other mage’s aching cock in his hand.

Natsu let out a long hiss that quickly turned into a moan when Gray started stroking him. The sounds Natsu continued to make were only serving to encourage the ice mage into increasing the pressure and pace. When he ran his thumb over the tip and felt the liquid leaking down his hand, Gray let out his own low groan and Natsu sealed their lips together and swallowed the sound. He licked hard and sloppy into Gray’s mouth, aggression competing with the gentle way he reached up to brush the other mage’s sweat-soaked bangs off his forehead.

When he felt like he was close to going over the edge, he grabbed Gray’s wrist. The ice mage immediately stilled and looked up in concern and confusion. Natsu moved away just a bit, running his hands greedily down to the other’s hips and noticing that Gray was already half hard again between them. He finally sat back on his knees and Gray eyed him curiously. The fire mage flashed a bright smile before squeezing the other boy’s thighs. 

Gray’s eyes widened in understanding and he tensed for a second before allowing Natsu to carefully nudge his legs further apart.

"Are you sure?" Natsu asked out loud, an air of seriousness falling onto his features. He wanted to make sure that Gray was ready. Distractedly his hands ran up the other's splayed open legs.

Gray's face contorted strangely for a moment, an emotion Natsu couldn't quite recognize before it settled into one he knew by heart. Gray was rolling his eyes at Natsu in exasperation.

Natsu frowned. "Oi, I'm being serious, ice-brain!" Natsu said in outrage. His hand that was resting on the other mage's knee gave a squeeze.

"Of course that I'm alright with that." Gray replied, he gave a soft kick to Natsu's side with his free leg. "Do you think I-!" Gray stopped himself with a sharp intake of breath. He bit his bottom lip before letting out a whoosh of air. He raised himself onto one elbow, the other coming to cup Natsu's face, a too gentle gesture that took Natsu aback. "Just get on with it, flame brain. I don't have all night." He said with some impatience.

Natsu tilted his head so that his head was being better cradled.

"I just want to make sure," he said while he closed his eyes and nuzzled his cheek against the hand holding it, "I don't want to do something if you don't."

Gray gave him a small smile, "Thank you, but if you're okay with it so am I. I want this, want you." He forced himself to meet Natsu's eye even while his cheeks turned red.

It was so stupidly endearing the fire mage found himself leaning forward to kiss him again. "Good, because I want you too."

As they broke the kiss, Natsu suddenly sat up, as if he'd been shocked. Gray blinked, not expecting the change of countenance coming from the other.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We need something. And it's kind of important..." Natsu replied as he gave a sheepish laugh while scratching his cheek.

It didn't take long for Gray to catch his meaning. "Oh. Right..."

An air of awkwardness raised between them, both suddenly red as a cherry and consciously not looking at the other.

"Maybe the bathroom?" Gray said tentatively.

"Yeah. Bath-good idea. I'll go. And check." Natsu said as he stood up and walked awkwardly towards the bathroom. He was sure he heard Gray make an appreciative noise and that made him preen a little bit.

'Let Gray enjoy the view.' He thought, even though his cheeks were still quite red.

Natsu flipped the lights on and wandered into the bathroom. There was nothing but soap on the counter so he started rummaging through the cabinets and drawers until finally he found what he was looking for.

"Aha!" He yelled, holding the bottle of lube up in the air victoriously. He heard Gray laughing from the other room and grinned. Turning off the lights again, he sauntered through the doorway and over to where Gray was. The ice mage continued to laugh at the uncomfortable way Natsu had to move due to his painfully hard erection.

The fire mage unceremoniously plopped down in between Gray's legs. They both immediately sobered and stared deep into each other's eyes. Natsu leaned down and pressed a kiss to the inside of Gray's knee while he coated his fingers with lube.

When he deemed it enough, he took one finger to the tight ring of muscles, massaging, letting the other relax under his touch. It took a little bit but Gray did relax and before long, Natsu had slipped one finger inside. Gray didn’t react badly, he just frowned a little before relaxing. Natsu let Gray adjust before adding another finger. Now Gray did let out a small breath, some mild discomfort before he half-raised himself and looked at Natsu.

“Okay?” Natsu asked. He was gently pumping his fingers inside Gray, feeling the muscles relaxing slightly around his warm finger. Maybe his warmth was helping a bit too, actually.

“Yes. I just…” Gray looked pointedly at Natsu. “It’s weird to see you being so gentle and careful.” He blushed slightly.

Natsu blushed too. He broke their staring connection and looked into his hand, the view quite pornographic with the way Gray’s body seemed to be accepting, eagerly, his fingers.

“I can be careful.” He said awkwardly, not daring to look up, still quite entranced in the view.

“Not often…” Gray said with a sliver of teasing in his voice. “But you don’t have to be so careful. You know that I won’t break.”

Natsu looked up in time to see the ice mage winking at him. “You never change.” Natsu said with a laugh but on his next thrust he made sure to slip three fingers into Gray. There was more resistance from the muscles but Gray seemed to be breathing and looked quite focused on the ceiling and before long, he relaxed. Natsu was now thrusting his fingers with some ease. And Gray was ready. So Natsu sat back and removed his fingers. He fumbled to grab the lube – he shouldn’t have tried to grab it with his slick hand – but when he grabbed the tube, he squirted a good amount into his own hand and quickly slicked his erection.

The fire mage scooted closer to Gray, leaning forward and placing one leg of the ice mage over his arm. That allowed Natsu to get more space, to open Gray up more.

When Natsu looked down at Gray he was met with a lusty gaze and some impatience. That prompted the fire mage into action. With his free hand he held his own cock and started feeding it into the other’s hole, feeling some pressure at first before Gray let out a sigh and, in the next moment, Natsu had completely slid inside. As his pelvis made contact with the other’s backside Natsu paused.

Both him and Gray were staring at the other, wide-eyed and mouths open in shock.

Natsu groaned and lowered his head so that his forehead was resting on the ice mage’s sternum. His hips twitched, wanting to move but he let himself stand still, wait until Gray gave his okay.

A hand reaching into his shoulder and squeezing, nails piercing the fire mage’s skin, was the signal Gray was ready for him to move.

And so, Natsu pulled back and thrust.

He started moving slowly, a steady rhythm to which Gray didn’t seem to react badly. The ice mage moved his hips in counterpoint to Natsu’s thrusts, bringing them to a rhythm that was familiar to them, a dance of sorts that they knew by heart even if it was in quite different circumstances – usually they had this kind of rhythm, of understanding of the other when they were fighting. But now, Gray threw his other leg around Natsu’s waist, pulling him in.

Natsu placed the leg that had been thrown over his arm around his own waist, feeling as Gray interlocked his heels against his low back, a small kick a sign that the mage underneath wanted more.

Natsu had had his head lowered over the other, bangs brushing against sweaty skin, and his lips were just a hairsbreadth away from the glistening pale skin. With every thrust Natsu was closer to kissing Gray. First, he kept himself from doing so but, being engulfed by the other’s warmth, so contrasting with his core’s element and attitude, enveloped by the scent and noises Gray let out, the hands that wanted more – Natsu just let go. He started by kissing Gray’s collarbone, lapping at the salty skin, feeling the tang that was pure Gray, filled Natsu to the brim.

A hand grabbed the hairs on the back of his head and guided Natsu to where Gray wanted him. Their lips joined in a sloppy kiss once again as their hips moved in an eternal dance.

They broke the kiss, panting, sharing each other’s air, gazes locked. Natsu felt something cold brushing his cheek and turned his head slightly, brushing a kiss on Gray’s palm, not breaking eye contact. Gray moaned and held onto Natsu’s hair once more, prompting a deeper thrust from the fire mage. Gray grasped as his prostate was grazed.

With a little more force, Natsu rocked back into the ice mage making sure to keep the same angle and the high-pitched whimper Gray let out in response made the heat pooling in the dragonslayer’s belly grow infinitely hotter. 

He slammed back into the other with increasing intensity, relishing in each noise he pulled from Gray’s lips and letting loose his own moans each time Gray tugged on his hair or ran cool hands down his sides or pressed his tongue deeper into Natsu’s mouth. He tried to keep his movements steady but his thrusts were quickly becoming an erratic frenzy.

“Fuck, Gray,” Natsu panted against the other’s lips before sealing their mouths together again. He used one hand to cradle Gray’s cheek, pulling him in closer while sliding his other hand down and grabbing Gray’s erection with it, the ice mage already hard again and dripping between them.

Natsu stroked Gray’s erection, his hot palm sliding effortlessly between them.

They were both grunting with the effort, the rhythm Natsu was imposing starting to lose its steady cadence as both his hand and hips moved erratically.

Natsu was reaching his climax – fast. He felt himself hurtling towards that moment, the world around them disappearing as only Gray mattered. With a swipe of his thumb over the head of the other’s erection, Natsu felt liquid warmth splash over both their abdomens and he just couldn’t take it anymore. He came, emptying himself inside Gray, vision whitening out for one timeless moment.

And then he slumped on top of Gray. Both were breathing harshly, hearts still beating fast as sweat started cooling on their limbs.

“Shit.” Gray was the first to gather his thoughts. Natsu heard him through a slowly lifting haze.

The fire mage lifted his head, looking up into Gray’s eyes. There was wonder and affection and Natsu felt himself smiling.

“You bet.” He replied, a shit-eating grin stretching his lips. He slowly raised himself, slipping out of Gray, seeing the grimace the other made at being empty and having some come leaking out.

Natsu held Gray’s hand and kissed the palm, replicating a previous gesture, and got another smile in response. He lay down besides Gray, stretching contently.

They stayed like that for a few moments, in comfortable silence.

“Okay, time to clean this gunk.” Natsu said suddenly. Gray started laughing. “What?” The fire mage asked confused.

“You’re such a romantic.” Gray replied between laughs. “But yes, we better clean up and go get some sleep.” The ice mage sat up, yelping. Natsu was quick to help him stand.

“Shaddup.” Natsu replied awkwardly, redness blooming in his cheeks once again, as he threw an arm around Gray’s waist and guiding him towards the bathroom.

“Oh, and you better start thinking about what you want to tell the girls. You weren’t too subtle earlier…” Gray continued, teasingly.

Natsu just let out a wordless groan.

* * *

Natsu awoke to rays of the sunrise shining brightly through the open window. He tried to shift his position and stretch his arms only to find one was trapped. Frowning in confusion, the fire mage looked over and finally registered both his arms were wrapped tightly around a sleeping Gray, the ice mage curled up snuggly against his side. Natsu felt his face flush as memories from the previous night flooded his mind. It still felt unreal, like a crazy dream he’d yet to wake up from. But here he was, holding Gray while he slept and the dragonslayer couldn’t keep himself from smiling.

 He reached up and idly ran a hand through Gray’s hair and was filled with warm affection as he watched the other boy mumble something before pressing his face further into Natsu’s chest. The fire mage leaned down and kissed the top of Gray’s head. 

"Natsu...?” Gray murmured, tilting his face to blink blearily up at him, “What are you doing? ‘S early.”

 Natsu laughed quietly, “Sorry, ice princess, not everyone sleeps until afternoon like you do.”

Too tired to think of a response, Gray just stuck his tongue out making Natsu laugh harder. He pushed the ice mage’s bangs back, tracing his fingers over Gray’s closed eyelids and across his cheekbones. “Hey Gray?” 

 “Mmm, yeah?”

 Natsu took a breath, hesitating for a split second before whispering, “I love you.” 

 Gray opened his eyes to gaze straight at the fire mage for a moment and then gave him a small, drowsy smile, “Love you, too, flamebrain.” 

* * *

They had cuddled for a while longer before more pressing matters called, and then they had to go meet the girls for breakfast before they headed back home.

They sat down at the table – which was already quite full, the girls had ordered quite a lot of stuff already, knowing Natsu – and were subjected to some curious looks.

“’Morning!” Natsu said cheerfully already reaching out to grab some rolls of bread.

“Good morning.” Lucy and Erza replied, exchanging a look between themselves.

“’Mornin’,” Gray grumbled, still half-awake. He slumped on the table, hand reaching distractedly to an empty cup.

“Gray, it’s so early for you.” Lucy noted.

“It’s just because someone forced me to come. Dumbass.” Gray grumbled, lifting his cup for Lucy to fill it, nodding in silent thanks.

“You couldn’t spend the morning in bed, you lazy ass!” Natsu replied cheekily. “Besides, the food here is quite good.”

“You would know it, flame brain.” Gray drawled.

The girls shared a glance once again before Lucy cleared her throat.

“Okay, guys, what the hell’s going on with you?” She asked, eyeing them curiously.

“Yes, last night you were acting very weird and now you’re all buddy-buddy. What happened? Both before and after.” Erza was able to tame her curiosity but it still showed.

“Huuh, let’s say that we’ve come to an understanding…” Natsu said, sharing a secretive smile with Gray. The ice mage just winked, before starting to put some food on his plate.

“That settles it, something happened, really!” Lucy near-squeed.

“Told you.” The red headed mage said with a laugh. “Oh, it has got to be good.”

“C’mon, tell us. What happened?” Lucy’s voice got a slightly whining tone.

“Nothing!” Both mages said at the same time, dark blushes blooming in their cheeks.

“Well then. I think I have an idea about what happened.” The blonde mage said with finality. “And it’s about time, too!”

“Hey, we don’t know for sure.” Erza admonished.

“Do you mean that you…?” Natsu started saying.

“You already knew about-?” Gray said at the same time. The mages exchanged an astonished look.

“Of course we know, sillies. You’ve been sharing a tension for ages. There was a pool at the guild too.” Lucy rested an elbow on the table.

“That same tension did inflame some interesting stories…” Erza added, looking slyly at Lucy.

“Shhhh!” Lucy elbowed the older mage.

“I can’t believe that!” Gray said, wide awake and with his mouth falling open.

“So the whole guild knew.” Natsu said, eye twitching. “You’re all crazy.”

“You’re one to talk.” Lucy laughed. “But, seriously now, we’re very happy that you guys decided to stop being stubborn.”

“It’s about time too.” Erza smiled.

Natsu and Gray looked at each other, their hands enlacing beneath the table.

The end result of the whole guild knowing was strange but, they didn’t regret having come to the hot springs because they allowed them to share their feelings, at long last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


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